Gators

The Philadelphia 76ers are in a state of dilemma right now.&nbsp;
As Philadelphia enters Game 2 in their best-of-7 series against the New York Knicks on the road at the Madison Square Garden, it has them wondering for adjustments and key plays with hopes of tying the series.
Although Nick Nurse&rsquo;s defensive scheme on the Knicks&rsquo; Jalen Brunson, his buddy Josh Hart happened and knocked down three crucial three-pointers in the 4th quarter of Game 1 to bury the Sixers. Brunson was held to 22 points on 8-26 shooting, but Hart had 22 points himself as well.
That&rsquo;s bad news for the Sixers. The Knicks star point guard have been playing at an all-NBA level this season thus far and it is clear that the game plan is to send guys at Brunson for him to see bodies and make him work for his points. However, when someone else has a performance as big as Hart&rsquo;s in Game 1, that would be difficult for the Sixers to overcome.
On offense, Tyrese Maxey shouldered most of the offensive load in the 4th quarter after reigning MVP Joel Embiid injured his knee in the first half. Embiid came to play in the second half, but was visibly not his usual self physically, missing his patented midrange jumpers and some layups around the basket. He ended up finishing the game with 29 points but shot an abysmal 8-22 from the field. Maxey himself scored 33 points but played a game-high 43 minutes for the game. This is something the Sixers should monitor because as young and spry as he is, Maxey is essential for them down the stretch especially if this extends down the line.
How could the Sixers bounce back? Heading into tonight&rsquo;s Game 2 and moving forward into the series, here are some of the things the Sixers could do to steal one on the road and possibly win the series.
Play Buddy Hield more
The Sixers&rsquo; midseason acquisition only played for 10 minutes and did not score at all. That is uncharacteristic for someone you brought in for this exact reason: to have more weapons around Embiid in the playoffs. Although a defensive liability at times, Hield&rsquo;s gravity as a shooter and threat from the outside is more than enough to compensate for those.&nbsp;
Hield is a proven knockdown shooter who can only help space the floor for Embiid when he&rsquo;s in the middle of the floor. If given the opportunity and he hits his shots, the paint will open up even more which will give Embiid and Maxey more room to operate.
&ldquo;Buddy [Hield] didn&rsquo;t get much of a chance last game,&rdquo; Nurse said on Sunday. &ldquo;He did have a couple of plays there. He didn&rsquo;t play good. It&rsquo;s a game where you can&rsquo;t extend minutes when a guy has three or four mistakes, but I do say this he&rsquo;ll be a factor in the series. He could have just as easily made that wide-open 3, and then hit another one the next time down the floor like he does, but he didn&rsquo;t. We kind of gave him this chance to impact it and we had to get back to somebody else, but he&rsquo;ll be a factor.&rdquo;
Involve Tobias Harris on more offensive actions and build up his confidence
As it stands right now, Tobias Harris&rsquo; confidence has looked to be cooked and nowhere to be found. He has been playing out of sorts over the past few games, oftentimes getting lost in translation within the flow of the Sixers offense at times. With Embiid demanding the ball and the attention most of the time and Maxey setting the offense up, this leaves Harris with little to no opportunities to have any sort of offensive rhythm.
Harris is also not the role player specialist like Kelly Oubre who brings defensive toughness, hits the occasional threes, and provides the timely cuts, or Nic Batum&rsquo;s lockdown one-on-one defense coupled with his three-point marksmanship. Harris is someone you make plays for to set him up. He has shown that capability over his career, being the third option on offense. Harris&rsquo; skill set allows him to attack off the catch, hit some catch-and-shoot threes here and there, and run some pick-and-rolls with certain guys.
If the Sixers want to have a chance to bounce back in Game 2, Harris should be more involved on offense no matter how Nick Nurse and his staff would do it. A 30-million-dollar player like Harris can&rsquo;t just camp in the corner or wings ball-watching and watch the ball come to him, he should be utilized in a way his strengths as a player can help the Sixers.
Bench production is a must
In Game 1, the Sixers only had 5 bench points. That can&rsquo;t happen again. Even though they are down two key rotation players in DeAnthony Melton and Robert Covington, both the coaching staff and the players themselves need to do a better job involving players on offense and stepping up to the plate. This is the playoffs and everyone has to contribute something. 
After scoring 20 points against Miami, Batum only had 3 points in Game 1. Hield wasn&rsquo;t even able to score a point. Backup big Paul Reed has to be more aggressive especially now that Embiid is not 100%. Cam Payne has to hit one or two shots when he comes in, just to change the complexion of the game a little bit. Maybe Nick Nurse could reach a bit deeper into his bag of tricks and activate someone like Ricky Council for an energy boost after the rookie played a good stretch to end the season. 
The bench has to help the starters at some point in the series. But it has to start in Game 2 &ndash; because it takes everyone to win a playoff basketball game.
&nbsp;

How could the Sixers bounce back? Here are some of the things the Sixers could do to steal one on the road and win the series.

2024 NBA Playoffs: 3 adjustments for Sixers to bounce back vs Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers were aiming to &ldquo;bounce back,&rdquo; according to coach Nick Nurse, from Thursday's disappointing loss to the New York Knicks, and they did just that against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
"A lot of length, a lot of size, they got really good defense to protect the rim. I think both guards can hurt you in a lot of ways,&rdquo; Nurse said of the Cavaliers&rsquo; roster prior to the matchup.
There were an abundance of Knicks fans in Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, but the arena was packed full of Philadelphia supporters on Friday evening. The Sixers won the tip-off, wasting no time to get the crowd on their feet. Forward Kelly Oubre Jr. delivered a monster slam dunk on the opening possession over Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen. The star of the show for Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey, kicked off his night with a stepback three-pointer. The opening quarter was highlighted by the late efforts of guard Cameron Payne, who grabbed an offensive rebound for a layup and drained a corner shot from the arc to level the score at 25 after one.
The second quarter began with Tobias Harris struggling, with multiple missed shots inside the paint within the first three minutes. However, Payne picked up for the slack on offense, with points from all three levels. Maxey operated the pick-and-roll game with forward K.J. Martin masterfully, which led to a clear lane for Martin to score. The efforts of Allen and guard Isaac Okoro kept Cleveland within reach until halftime, when the Sixers led by three points.
Payne led the 76ers in scoring at the half with 13 points, while star guard Darius Garland led the Cavs with 12 points.&nbsp;
The Cavaliers were refreshed coming out of the break as Okoro found the basket for two, followed by a drive-and-score from forward Max Strus. Maxey refused to let the Cavs take over, responding with multiple contested shots of his own. Harris was able to find a rhythm at the midway point of the quarter, draining a three-pointer and a set of free throws. Triples from sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Oubre increased their lead to 11 points. Late energy from big man Evan Mobley and Strus kept the Cavaliers competitive, with a score of 74-70 entering the final 12 minutes.
The final quarter began with an electric acrobatic finish from guard De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, followed by a fluent mid-range shot from center Paul Reed. Interior defense was a glaring issue for the Sixers throughout the night, with Allen taking full advantage. The night couldn&rsquo;t end before Maxey created a multitude of looks for himself down the stretch, which resulted in a 24-point outing. It was a back-and-forth battle until the final buzzer, but ultimately the 76ers prevailed. Despite the comeback attempt from Cleveland, a deep-range three-pointer from Hield was the dagger, resulting in the 104-97 victory.
The Sixers are facing off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday evening, where Patrick Beverley makes his return and Payne takes on his former team.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s turnt. It&rsquo;s turnt. Let&rsquo;s get it,&rdquo; Payne told Basketball News postgame when asked about playing against the Bucks.

Tyrese Maxey led the Philadelphia 76ers to a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

Monstrous fourth quarter from Tyrese Maxey carries Sixers past Cavs

The trade-deadline madness is officially over for the Philadelphia 76ers, and they ended up making fewer moves than anticipated. Their total haul was Buddy Hield, Cam Payne and two second-round picks.&nbsp;
With that said, there are a few key players that the Sixers could pursue in the buyout market. Among those players are Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Lowry is a Philly native and the most likely option if he were to be bought out. He would be a slight upgrade over Patrick Beverley, who was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks (although he wouldn't match Beverley's energy). He hasn&rsquo;t officially been bought out by the Charlotte Hornets yet, but he is expected to be. Averaging just over 8 points per game, Lowry would be used as the team's primary backup point guard.
Dinwiddie is another option who would certainly be an upgrade over Jaden Springer in terms of scoring. Dinwiddie has been an established scorer for quite some time, generally scoring 15 points-per-game or more each season.&nbsp; This has been a bit of a down year, but you can rely on him much more than someone like Springer. However, he's not nearly as good of a defender, which would hurt the 76ers.

The Sixers may pursue Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie and Marcus Morris on the buyout market.

NBA buyout rumors: 76ers linked to Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, the WNBA announced today.&nbsp;
This is the second Kia WNBA Most Valuable Award for Stewart and the first for a member of the Liberty. Stewart previously earned the honor in 2018 with the Seattle Storm.
Stewart becomes the eighth player in WNBA history to win the award multiple times, joining three-time winners Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes and two-time winners Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker and A&rsquo;ja Wilson.
Stewart received 20 first-place votes, 23 second-place votes and 17 third-place votes from a national panel of 60 sportswriters and broadcasters, earning 446 total points. Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas finished in second place with 439 points (23 first-place votes, 12 second-place votes and 25 third-place votes). Las Vegas Aces center A&rsquo;ja Wilson, the 2020 and 2022 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, was third with 433 points (17 first-place votes, 25 second-place votes, 17 third-place votes and one fourth-place vote).
Players were awarded 10 points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points for a third-place vote, three points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a fifth-place vote.&nbsp;
With Stewart and Thomas separated by seven points, this marks the second-smallest margin between the first- and second-place finishers in the history of the award; the closest finish was a two-point difference between MVP Swoopes (327 points) and runner-up Jackson (325) in 2005. The 13 points separating Stewart and Wilson represent the smallest margin between first- and third-place vote-getters for MVP in WNBA history, surpassing the 45-point difference between MVP Parker (234) and third-place finisher Delle Donne (189) in 2013.
In addition, this is the second time in WNBA history that the MVP runner-up received more first-place votes than the award recipient. In 2005, Jackson received 20 first-place votes and Swoopes received 16.
In her seventh WNBA season and first with the Liberty, Stewart&nbsp;averaged 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.57 blocked shots and 1.45 steals in 34.1 minutes in 40 games. She ranked second in the WNBA in scoring, third in rebounding, 16th&nbsp;in assists, fourth in blocks and minutes and eighth in steals.&nbsp;The four-time All-WNBA First Team selection also finished second in efficiency (27.6) and third in double-doubles (20).
Behind Stewart, New York (32-8) recorded the second-most wins in a season in league history, posted its largest average margin of victory (13.16) in a season and earned the No. 2 seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Liberty will continue the pursuit of its first WNBA championship when it hosts the Sun in Game 2 of the Semifinals tonight (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Connecticut leads the series 1-0.&nbsp;
The 6-4 Stewart was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for three of the four possible months of the 2023 WNBA season, May, July and August, when New York posted a combined 21-4 record. In addition, she was honored as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week six times.
For the second consecutive year, Stewart was the No. 2 vote-getter in fan voting for the AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game, where she captained Team Stewart to a 143-127 victory over Team Wilson. She also helped New York win the third annual WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup presented by Coinbase, with the Liberty defeating the Aces 82-63 on the road in the championship game on Aug. 15.
Additional highlights of Stewart&rsquo;s 2023 season include:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Posted her first four regular-season games of 40 or more points, setting a WNBA single-season record and matching Diana Taurasi for the most in a career.</li>
<li>Scored a career-high and franchise-record 45 points in 30 minutes in a 90-73 win over the Indiana Fever on May 21, the most points ever by a WNBA player in 30 minutes or fewer.</li>
<li>Registered 43 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a 99-95 victory against the Phoenix Mercury on July 5, marking the second game of at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in WNBA history.</li>
<li>Became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a half, doing so in the first half of a 95-84 win over the Atlanta Dream on July 27.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Set single-season franchise records for total points (919) and rebounds (371) and finished with the second-most points in a season by a WNBA player.</li>
<li>Became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 4,000 points (196 games).</li>
</ul>
Stewart, a native of North Syracuse, N.Y, and a four-time NCAA champion at the University of Connecticut, was selected by the Storm with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm. She signed with the Liberty as an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2023 season. Stewart holds career averages of 20.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.50 blocks and 1.36 steals.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
In honor of being named the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, Stewart will receive $15,450 and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany &amp; Co.
Below are the voting results for the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player Award:
&nbsp;

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, the WNBA announced today.

New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart wins 2023 WNBA MVP award

Las Vegas Aces center A&rsquo;ja Wilson has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today. This is the second WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for Wilson, who also earned the honor last season.&nbsp;
Wilson received 32 votes from a national panel of 60 sportswriters and broadcasters.&nbsp;For the second consecutive year, Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas finished in second place (24 votes). Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes was third (three votes), and New York Liberty guard-forward Betnijah Laney received one vote.
In her sixth WNBA season, Wilson led the league with a career-high 2.23 blocks per game, ranked third in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and was 10th&nbsp;in steals per game (1.40). Wilson grabbed at least 10 defensive rebounds in a game nine times. She also recorded nine games with at least four blocks and 10 games with at least three steals.&nbsp;
Behind Wilson, Las Vegas (34-6) set a WNBA single-season record for victories and earned the No. 1 seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Aces have since advanced to the WNBA Semifinals and will host Game 1 of their Semifinals series against the Dallas Wings on Sunday, Sept. 24 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The 6-4 Wilson helped Las Vegas lead the league in defensive rating (97.7), blocks (4.78 bpg) and defensive rebound percentage (73.3) and rank second in fewest points allowed (80.3 ppg) and opponent field goal percentage (42.6).&nbsp;
Wilson ranked third in the WNBA in scoring (22.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (9.5 rpg), recording career highs in each category. The five-time WNBA All-Star also shot a career-best 55.7 percent from the field, the third-highest mark in the league.
Wilson, the 2020 and 2022 Kia WNBA MVP, finished with the most fan votes for the AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive year. She led Team Wilson against Team Stewart in the All-Star Game on July 15 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
In honor of being named the 2023 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson will receive $5,150 and a&nbsp;trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.
Below are the voting results for the 2023 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/wnbad.png" alt="" width="737" height="203" />
Wilson was also selected to this season's All-Defensive First Team, the WNBA announced today.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/unnamed-7.jpg" alt="" width="551" height="689" />

Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today.

Aces' A’ja Wilson named 2023 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year

Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today. She has earned the honor as the league&rsquo;s top reserve for the first time. To be eligible for the award, a player had to play more games as a reserve than as a starter.
Clark received 35 of 60 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Guard-forward DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun finished second with 13 votes, and guard Dana Evans of the Chicago Sky was third&nbsp;with nine votes. Center Kalani Brown of the Dallas Wings, guard Marine Johann&egrave;s of the New York Liberty and guard Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm each received one&nbsp;vote.&nbsp;
In her 11th&nbsp;WNBA season and first with the Aces, Clark played in all 39 of Las Vegas&rsquo; regular-season games, coming off the bench 38 times and starting once.
Overall, she averaged 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.5 minutes per game. Clark also made 38.6 percent of her three-point shots, ranking 17th&nbsp;in the WNBA in that category. She scored in double figures in 10 games, including a season-high 16 points in a 103-77 win over Seattle on Sept. 2, and recorded five or more rebounds 11 times.
Clark helped Las Vegas post a 34-6 record and earn the No. 1 seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Aces have since advanced to the WNBA Semifinals and will host the winner of the series between Dallas and the Atlanta Dream beginning on Sunday, Sept. 24 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Aces finished with the most victories and the fifth-best winning percentage (.850) in a regular season in league history. Las Vegas also posted the highest offensive rating (113.0) and the most 100-point games (11) ever by a WNBA team.
Clark, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, is the third player to win the Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award as a member of the Aces, joining Kelsey Plum (2021) and Dearica Hamby (2020 and 2019). In honor of her accomplishment, Clark will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.
Below are the voting results for the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award and the list of recipients since the award&rsquo;s inception in 2007.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/njnj.png" alt="" width="713" height="259" />

Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year.

Aces' Alysha Clark named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White has been named the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, the WNBA announced today.&nbsp;
White becomes the fourth former WNBA player to win the award, joining Becky Hammon (2022), Sandy Brondello (2014) and Suzie McConnell-Serio (2004). This marks the fifth Coach of the Year honor in Sun history, and White is the third different Connecticut coach to earn the award (Mike Thibault, 2006 and 2008; Curt Miller, 2017 and 2021).
White received 36 votes from a national panel of 60 sportswriters and broadcasters.&nbsp;Latricia Trammell of the Dallas Wings finished in second place with 11 votes, and Brondello of the New York Liberty was third with six votes.&nbsp; Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces received three votes; Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx and Tanisha Wright of the Atlanta Dream each received two votes.
In her third season as a WNBA head coach and her first with the Sun, White guided Connecticut to a 27-13 record and set the franchise record for victories in a season. The No. 3-seeded Sun will continue its quest for the franchise&rsquo;s first WNBA championship when it hosts the No. 6-seeded Lynx today in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series (1 p.m. ET, ESPN). Connecticut leads the series 1-0.
White was named the WNBA Coach of the Month for May after leading the team to a 4-1 record, marking the best start by a Sun head coach in their debut season with the franchise. The Indiana native earned a spot as a head coach in the 2023 AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game after guiding the Sun to the second-best record (12-4) in the league through June. At the All-Star Game in Las Vegas, White led Team Stewart to a 143-127 victory over Team Wilson.&nbsp;
Beginning the season with a talented veteran core, White replaced the production of former Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, who had departed via free agency, and subsequently guided the Sun through the loss of 2022 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year and two-time All-Star Brionna Jones, who sustained a season-ending Achilles injury on June 20.
Under White&rsquo;s guidance, forward Alyssa Thomas and forward-guard DeWanna Bonner were selected as 2023 WNBA All-Stars during their memorable seasons. Thomas posted a WNBA single-season record six triple-doubles and became the first player in league history to log triple-doubles in consecutive games, doing so twice. She also led the league in rebounding (9.9 rpg), ranked second in assists (7.9 apg) and equaled her career high in scoring (15.5 ppg). Bonner became the first player in Sun history to record consecutive games of 30 or more points and scored a career-high 41 points in a 94-77 win over the Aces on June 8. She averaged 17.4 points for the season, the third-highest figure of her career.
As a team, the Sun ranked second in the WNBA in defensive rating (98.8) and fourth in offensive rating (103.2). Connecticut allowed a league-low 79.0 points per game.
The 2023 season marks White&rsquo;s 16th&nbsp;in the WNBA. She began her WNBA career with five seasons (1999-2003) as a player, first with the Charlotte Sting, then the Indiana Fever. As a coach, she spent four seasons as an assistant with both the Chicago Sky (2007-10) and the Fever (2011-14), helping Indiana win the 2012 WNBA championship. She took over as Fever head coach in 2015, leading Indiana to the WNBA Finals in her first season and another playoff appearance the following year.
Below are the voting results for the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Award:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/unnamed-2.png" alt="" width="540" height="212" />

Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White has been named the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, the WNBA announced today.

Connecticut Sun's Stephanie White named 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year

SlamBall co-founder Mason Gordon spoke to Alex Kennedy about the sport's return, the new season on ESPN and much more.

The return of SlamBall: Co-founder Mason Gordon discusses new season

On Friday, the NBA announced that Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley was the 2022-23 Sportsmanship award winner.
This award honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. This is Conley's fourth time winning this award, which is the most in NBA history.&nbsp;
Conley beat out fellow finalists Houston Rockets center Boban Marjanovic, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson to win the award.
Conley received 96 first-place votes and 2,739 total voting points, while runner-up Marjanovic received 91 first-place votes but only 2,665 total voting points.&nbsp;
Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the Sportsmanship award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected one finalist from each of the NBA&rsquo;s six divisions.
Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists, with nearly 400 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.

On Friday, the NBA announced that Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley was the 2022-23 Sportsmanship Award winner.

Mike Conley wins NBA's Sportsmanship award for record fourth time

Kyrie Irving is actively recruiting LeBron James to the Dallas Mavericks, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1665747152327389186" target="_blank" rel="noopener external">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>. Meanwhile, Irving is pushing the Mavs to acquire James, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10078246-sources-kyrie-irving-wants-dallas-mavericks-to-trade-for-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener external">Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report</a>.
"A new twist has emerged in the LeBron James-Kyrie Irving reunion plot, as league sources have told Bleacher Report Irving wants the Dallas Mavericks to explore trading for LeBron James this offseason to create a Big 3 alongside himself and Luka Doncic," Haynes <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10078246-sources-kyrie-irving-wants-dallas-mavericks-to-trade-for-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote for Bleacher Report</a>.
Irving and James played together for three seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning a championship in 2016.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Sources: Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas. Irving is a free agent this offseason.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1665747152327389186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Irving is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has said that he would love to re-sign the veteran point guard.
James can&rsquo;t hit free agency until after next season, as he&rsquo;s under contract with the Los Angeles Lakers&nbsp;through next year (<a href="https://hoopshype.com/salaries/los_angeles_lakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener external">earning $46,698,737</a>) and then he has a player option worth $50,434,636 in 2024-25. The Mavericks would either have to trade for James or he would have to negotiate a buyout from the Lakers.
With these reports about a possible Irving-James reunion in Dallas surfacing, the Mavericks are <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/sportsbooks-betting-dallas-mavericks-lebron-james/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">now the odds-on favorites to land James this offseason</a>.
<div id="AdThrive_Content_1_desktop" class="adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls" data-google-query-id="CLjepeK4rf8CFRGBgwgdwSUMlg"></div>

Kyrie Irving is actively recruiting LeBron James to the Dallas Mavericks, according to reports.

Kyrie Irving is trying to recruit LeBron James to Dallas Mavericks

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year, the league announced today.
In just his third season as an NBA general manager, McNair assembled a team that went 48-34 &ndash; securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and ending the Kings' 16-year playoff drought.
McNair hired Kings head coach Mike Brown, who was the unanimous winner of the NBA's 2022-23 Coach of the Year award. He built the team around the star tandem of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and his key offseason additions included Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray.
McNair received 16 first-place votes and 98 total voting points. Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman was the runner-up, receiving seven first-place votes and 63 total voting points.
Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik (20 total points), Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth (20 total points) and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (13 total points) rounded out the top-five.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/exec1.png" alt="" width="748" height="316" />
Other executives who received at least one vote were Jon Horst (Milwaukee Bucks), James Jones (Phoenix Suns), Leon Rose (New York Knicks), Zach Kleiman (Memphis Grizzlies), Sean Marks (Brooklyn Nets), Rob Pelinka (Los Angeles Lakers), Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder), Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), David Griffin (New Orleans Pelicans) and Tim Connelly (Minnesota Timberwolves).
Unlike the other end-of-season awards that are voted on by media members, the voting panel for the Executive of the Year award consisted of front-office executives across the NBA. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst and Young LLP.

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year.

Sacramento's Monte McNair named NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 47 points, including 25 in a spectacular third quarter, to lead the Phoenix Suns past the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 on Tuesday night and win the Western Conference first-round playoff series in five games.
The Clippers didn&rsquo;t go quietly, nearly coming back from a 20-point deficit early in the fourth.
Los Angeles had multiple chances to tie in the final three minutes, but could never convert. Durant made a layup to push Phoenix&rsquo;s lead to 134-130 and then made two free throws to put the Suns up six with 31.3 seconds left.
Durant finished with 31 points while Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Booker shot 19 of 27 from the field.
Durant&rsquo;s final free throws capped a wild back-and-forth second half that saw the Clippers take a 71-61 lead early in the third.
But the Suns &mdash; led by Booker&rsquo;s stellar shot making &mdash; unleashed a powerful wave of offense, pouring in 50 points in the third quarter to take a 111-94 lead into the fourth. Booker made 10 of 11 shots in the rally, including three 3-pointers and a tomahawk fastbreak dunk.
The flustered Clippers had no answer until it was too late. Norman Powell led Los Angeles with 27 points while Mason Plumlee scored 20 off the bench.
It was a tough night for Russell Westbrook, who scored 14 points on 3 of 18 shooting and had a costly turnover in the final minute.
The Suns will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the second round. Game 1 is Saturday in Denver.
The series took a turn last week when the Clippers announced Leonard had a sprained right knee. The two-time Finals MVP suffered the injury in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2, but his condition worsened.
He missed Games 3 and 4 and the Clippers lost both contests.
But Los Angeles stayed competitive in those games and Tuesday night continued that trend &mdash; for a while. The Clippers took a 70-61 halftime lead, led by Powell&rsquo;s 16 points. Ayton scored 18 for the Suns.
HISTORIC BOOK
Booker became just the third player in the past 25 seasons to score at least 25 points in a quarter during a playoff game. The others were Damian Lillard (25 in 2019) and Allen Iverson (26 in 2001).
TIP-INS
Suns: Backup guard Cam Payne played for the first time in the playoffs. He missed the first four games with a sore back. He played three minutes but didn&rsquo;t score. ... Hosted a 77th straight sellout, combining regular season and postseason games.
Clippers: Eight-time All-Star Paul George also missed the game with a sprained right knee. He hasn&rsquo;t played since March 21. ... Had a 26-16 rebounding advantage in the first half. ... Backup guard Bones Hyland scored nine points in the first half.

Devin Booker led the Phoenix Suns past the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 on Tuesday night, winning the series in five games.

Devin Booker scores 47, leads Suns past Clippers to win series

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Load management is a big topic across the NBA these days.
One great way to make sure players get rest in the playoffs is to end the series early.
The Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics all have that opportunity on Tuesday night when they host Game 5s with a 3-1 lead in the series.
&ldquo;Closeout games are always the hardest,&rdquo; Suns center Deandre Ayton said. &ldquo;We expect it&rsquo;s going to be a battle. We&rsquo;re just gearing up.&rdquo;
The Western Conference top-seed Nuggets already had one opportunity to end their series, but the feisty Timberwolves managed to extend it with a Game 4 win in overtime on Sunday.
&ldquo;We really wanted to come out and have a sweep under our belt. Didn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said. &ldquo;They fought. They fought like hell, all game long. Even when we put a scare in their heart a little bit, they kept fighting, kept playing, and the crowd was into it.&rdquo;
The Suns-Los Angeles Clippers series has been shaped by Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s knee injury. Leonard has missed the past two games with a sprained knee, which has helped tip the series in favor of Phoenix.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely hurt. It&rsquo;s not load management where he&rsquo;s taking time off,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s shown in the past that he&rsquo;s played through injuries in the playoffs and so if it&rsquo;s something he can&rsquo;t play through, then it has to be pretty serious.&rdquo;
L.A.&rsquo;s Paul George has been out since March 21 with the same injury as Leonard.
HAWKS AT CELTICS
Boston leads 3-1. Game 4, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Celtics have never lost a best-of-seven playoff series after building a 3-1 lead. They are 27-0 in those situations over their storied history.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Jaylen Brown&rsquo;s facial wear. The Boston star had been using a protective mask since February, when he sustained a broken bone in his face. But he ditched the mask in the second quarter of Game 4 after making just 1 of 7 shots. He went 11 of 15 the rest of the way to finish with 31 points in a 129-121 victory. Presumably, he won&rsquo;t be wearing the mask anymore in these playoffs. &ldquo;As soon as I took it off, things started to turn around a little bit,&rdquo; Brown said.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Boston G Marcus Smart looked just fine in Game 4 after falling hard on his tailbone in the previous contest. He said they were times when his lower back tightened up, and he&rsquo;ll have to remain diligent in his treatment to make sure the pain doesn&rsquo;t keep him off the court. &ldquo;Throughout the game, it got a little tight on me. It flared up. But once I got it stretched out again, got it loose, got some heat on it, it was pretty good,&rdquo; Smart said.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Hawks. It looks like another brief playoff appearance unless they can pull of a win in Boston, and the challenge got even tougher when guard Dejounte Murray was suspended for Game 5 after bumping and verbally abusing an official after the end of Game 4. Murray is averaging 25.3 points in the series. Atlanta has lost five straight at TD Garden since its last victory on Feb. 17, 2021, including a pair of 13-point defeats in the first two games of this series. If the Hawks lose, it would be the second straight year they&rsquo;ve gone down in five games in the opening round and could signal major changes heading into the offseason.
TIMBERWOLVES AT NUGGETS
Denver leads 3-1. Game 5, 9 p.m. EDT, NBA TV.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Nuggets closed the last 2&frac12; minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 4 on a tying 12-0 run, but the Timberwolves recovered with an 18-point overtime on 6-for-8 shooting for a 114-108 victory. It denied Denver a first playoff-series sweep in franchise history and keep the first-round matchup alive despite Nikola Jokic&rsquo;s playoff-career-high-tying 43 points.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Anthony Edwards. Minnesota&rsquo;s All-Star guard has 129 points in four games, the second-most in the NBA playoffs behind Phoenix&rsquo;s Devin Booker (139). He delivered a wide array of clutch baskets down the stretch for the Wolves in Game 4, including a pull-up 3-pointer from the wing with 11.5 seconds left in overtime to push their lead to four. He&rsquo;s the first player in Wolves&rsquo; history with 100-plus points over three consecutive playoff games. Only LeBron James (eight) had more 30-plus-point playoff games before age 22 than Edwards does (five). Still, Edwards was aiming for a higher bar after his 12-for-27 shooting performance.
&ldquo;I played terrible, if you ask me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I took three bad 3s, three terrible possessions, and I damn near shot us out the game.&rdquo;
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Wolves sixth man Kyle Anderson was inadvertently struck by a stray arm from Edwards during a leap for a rebound late in the third quarter and did not return after suffering what the team announced as a left eye and facial contusion. Coach Chris Finch said Anderson went to see an eye specialist. ... Nuggets coach Mike Malone on Jokic&rsquo;s aggression with 12 free-throw attempts in Game 4 after zero in Game 3: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s banged up. He&rsquo;s playing hard.&rdquo;
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Jamal Murray. After scoring 40 points in Game 2, Denver&rsquo;s standout point guard missed 26 of 43 shots over the two games in Minnesota. He had 19 points in Game 4, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker frequently picking up his defense before half court and making him work hard for every shot, drive and pass.
CLIPPERS AT SUNS
Phoenix leads 3-1, Game 5, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns took control of the series with two wins in Los Angeles and now return to Phoenix to try and close it out. The Suns have taken advantage of the absence of L.A. star Kawhi Leonard, who missed both Games 3 and 4 because of a sprained knee.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Three-time All-Star Devin Booker is cooking for the Suns, averaging 34.8 points on 57.1% shooting. The 26-year-old isn&rsquo;t just scoring, he&rsquo;s averaging 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 blocks.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: All eyes are on Leonard to see if he can return. The Suns have been without backup point guard Cam Payne, who hasn&rsquo;t played in the series because of a sore back.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Russell Westbrook. If Leonard can&rsquo;t play, the Clippers almost certainly have to have another massive game from Westbrook, who has played well in the series. He&rsquo;s improved his scoring total each game, rising from 9 points in Game 1 to 28 in Game 2, 30 in Game 3 and 37 in Game 4. L.A. might need a 40-spot from him on Tuesday to extend the series.

The Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics all have an opportunity to advance on Tuesday night when they host Game 5s.

Suns, Nuggets, Celtics can all advance with Game 5 wins

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Devin Booker added 30 and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers without Kawhi Leonard 112-100 on Saturday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Clippers, who lost Game 3 by five points, again made a strong run with Leonard watching from the bench. He has missed two straight games with a sprained right knee. They&rsquo;re also without Paul George, who hasn&rsquo;t played since March 21 because of the same injury as Leonard.
Russell Westbrook carried the Clippers in the fourth quarter. He had 14 points, including nine in a row when they twice pulled within two points.
Westbrook finished with a game-high 37 points. Norman Powell added 14 points and Terance Mann had 13 off the bench.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
But as the fourth wound down, the Clippers ran out of gas.
Chris Paul, the 37-year-old former Clipper, had 12 points in the fourth, hitting big jumpers from all over the court each time the Los Angeles threatened.
Paul finished with 19 points and nine assists. Booker had nine rebounds and seven assists. Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Looking ageless at 34, Durant scored 11 points in the third, when the Suns erased an early eight-point deficit.
The Clippers scored nine straight points to open the third and take an eight-point lead. But Durant scored 11 points in the period, capped by a 3-pointer that sent the Suns into the fourth leading 83-78.
The Suns trailed by 11 points early in the second, when they outscored the Clippers 25-17 and led 48-47 at the break.
Durant picked up his third foul in the period, while Westbrook, Powell and Marcus Morris already had two fouls apiece for the Clippers.
TIP-INS
Suns: Cam Payne (low back soreness) has yet to play in the postseason.
Clippers: Got outrebounded 49-33. ... Bench outscored the Suns&rsquo; reserves, 26-9.

The Suns defeated the Clippers without Kawhi Leonard 112-100 on Saturday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Durant scores 31, Suns beat Clippers 112-100 for 3-1 lead

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; The Boston Celtics asked Malcolm Brogdon to learn a new role. He mastered it quickly.
Brogdon was honored Thursday night as the NBA&rsquo;s sixth man of the year, after a season in which he came off the bench exclusively and helped the Celtics finish with the second-best record in the NBA.
It&rsquo;s the second major individual award of Brogdon&rsquo;s career: The 30-year-old guard was rookie of the year in 2016-17.
&ldquo;This is such an honor. It has definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston,&rdquo; said Brogdon, who had started every game the past four years in the NBA before embracing his role to come off the bench when he was acquired by the Celtics. &ldquo;My last two seasons, they weren&rsquo;t super successful, so for me that was another gut check for me in understanding that maybe I&rsquo;m not a No. 1 guy but I can be a great No. 2, 3 or 4.&rdquo;
Brogdon beat out fellow finalists Immanuel Quickley of New York and Bobby Portis of Milwaukee, receiving 60 of 100 first-place votes and 408 points overall from a media panel. Quickley was second at 326, getting 34 first-place votes. Portis had six first-place votes and 97 points.
Brogdon averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists; among those who played primarily off the bench this season, only the Los Angeles Clippers&rsquo; Russell Westbrook finished with better averages in those three categories.
The Celtics sent a significant package &mdash; five players and a first-round draft pick &mdash; to Indiana last summer for Brogdon, with this specific off-the-bench role in mind even though he had started in each of his last 210 regular-season appearances. He played in 67 games for the Celtics, all off the bench.
And he was still third on Boston in points per game, behind only All-NBA candidates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. When Brogdon made at least 50% of his shots from the field, the Celtics were 26-9 &mdash; and 13-0 when he shot at least 63%.
&ldquo;Coming to Boston and playing behind JT, behind JB, these guys are proven All-Stars and soon to be All-NBA guys,&rdquo; Brogdan said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good fit for me.&rdquo;
Sixth man was the fourth individual honor announced by the league so far this season, following the reveals of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr.</a>&nbsp;as defensive player of the year,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clutch-player-award-fox-kings-f6179cafd2b2e9cc86c55ce2d46d1a66">Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox</a>&nbsp;as the inaugural winner of the clutch player award, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-mike-brown-0ecdc80451e22c30c79b0a62da792102">Kings coach Mike Brown</a>&nbsp;as a unanimous pick for coach of the year.
Still unannounced by the league:
&mdash; Most Valuable Player. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver is a finalist again, along with Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid.
&mdash; Most Improved Player. New York&rsquo;s Jalen Brunson, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen are the finalists.
&mdash; Rookie of the year. Orlando&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Utah&rsquo;s Walker Kessler and Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams are the finalists.
&mdash; The All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.

Brogdon was honored Thursday night as the NBA’s sixth man of the year..

Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon wins NBA’s Sixth Man of Year award

When he was introduced last June as coach of the Sacramento Kings, Mike Brown didn&rsquo;t make any grand proclamations or wild predictions.
He talked about work. He talked about culture. He talked about winning.
&ldquo;One of the main reasons I was brought here,&rdquo; Brown said that day, &ldquo;was to bring some leadership.&rdquo;
Ask around, and no coach did a better job leading this season than Brown. He was announced Wednesday as the unanimous winner of the NBA&rsquo;s Coach of the Year award, an easy call after his first season in Sacramento saw the Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. All 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters had Brown atop their ballot.
&ldquo;These honors don&rsquo;t come around often so you&rsquo;re very appreciative of them,&rdquo; Brown said on the TNT broadcast of the announcement. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really appreciative of being in Sacramento. The fans, the city has been fantastic.&rdquo;
Brown won the award for the second time, adding this trophy to the one he got after he and LeBron James led Cleveland to a 66-16 record in the 2008-09 season. The other finalists this season were Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault and Boston&rsquo;s Joe Mazzulla.
Daigneault was second, Mazzulla third, and 14 coaches got at least one vote on the ballots where the selection panel was asked to pick their first-, second- and third-place choices.
The Kings were 48-34, the seventh-best record in the league and the first time they were a top-seven team since 2003-04. They led the league in points per game, had the best road record in the Western Conference, snapped a run of 16 consecutive losing seasons and won a division title for the first time since 2003.
&ldquo;Accountability has been big since Day 1,&rdquo; Kings guard De&rsquo;Aaron Fox said. &ldquo;When he was hired, I told him that&rsquo;s the most important thing, I felt like, to me was just being able to hold everybody accountable. &hellip; That&rsquo;s definitely the biggest thing.&rdquo;
Brown&rsquo;s victory was the third major event for the Kings in three days. On Monday, they beat Golden State for a 2-0 series lead in their Western Conference first-round matchup. On Tuesday, Fox was announced as the inaugural winner of the NBA&rsquo;s clutch player of the year award. Wednesday brought the coaching award &mdash; and Thursday will see Sacramento trying to take a 3-0 lead over the defending champion Warriors.
Brown was there last year with Golden State as an assistant coach, winning his fourth NBA title, all as an assistant &mdash; the first under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, the other three under Steve Kerr with the Warriors.
&ldquo;Everybody in our building just feels so happy for Mike and strongly about what he did for us while he for us while he was here, how much he contributed to our championships here and our culture,&rdquo; Kerr said before the Kings-Warriors series started. &ldquo;We miss him, but we&rsquo;re thrilled that he had this amazing season.&rdquo;
Brown becomes the 11th person to win the NBA&rsquo;s coach award more than once, joining three-time recipients Pat Riley, Popovich and Don Nelson, along with fellow two-time winners Gene Shue, Bill Fitch, Hubie Brown, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Tom Thibodeau and Mike Budenholzer.
Until now, Toronto&rsquo;s Nick Nurse was the record-holder for the most votes in a Coach of the Year race, getting 90 first-place picks in 2020. And Brown topped two highly deserving finalists on his way to the unanimous win.
Daigneault got Oklahoma City into the play-in tournament and a game from the No. 8 seed in a season where the Thunder were widely expected to struggle &mdash; especially after Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in last year&rsquo;s draft, suffered a foot injury over the summer and would miss the entire season.
Mazzulla wasn&rsquo;t even supposed to be a head coach this year, then was forced to take over just before training camp when Boston suspended Ime Udoka following the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a female team employee. But Mazzulla, only 34, led Boston to the second-best record in the NBA and did so well that the Celtics removed the interim title and installed him as the full-fledged coach in February.

After helping the Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2006, Mike Brown won the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

Sacramento’s Mike Brown named unanimous Coach of the Year

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant is the shiny new toy for the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker is still the team&rsquo;s heart and soul.
Booker &mdash; the three-time All-Star who has spent all eight of his NBA seasons in Phoenix &mdash; scored 38 points, Durant added 25 and the Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-109 on Tuesday night in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference first-round series.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an all-around player,&rdquo; Durant said about Booker. &ldquo;He can do everything at an elite level on a basketball court.&rdquo;
The Suns needed a gritty effort after a disappointing loss in Game 1. Their shots weren&rsquo;t falling for much of the first half and they fell into a 13-point hole midway through the second quarter.
But led by Booker, they never panicked.
The 26-year-old drilled a 3 just before the halftime buzzer to tie it and scored 18 points in the third quarter on 7-of-8 shooting, helping the Suns push to a 92-87 advantage entering the fourth. The defense also improved after the Clippers got several easy baskets in the second quarter.
&ldquo;People talk about adjustments all the time and we make them,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;But sometimes basketball is just being able to sit down and guard the ball, keep your man from getting to the basket and contesting the shot.&rdquo;
Phoenix never trailed in the final quarter, slowly pulling away. It was their first playoff win with Durant on the floor. The team was 8-0 during the regular season with the 13-time All-Star following his trade from the Brooklyn Nets in February.
The series moves to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 31 points after he scored 38 in Game 1. Russell Westbrook added 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
&ldquo;We know it is going to be a tough series,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;They came back and took care of business tonight.&rdquo;
Booker had a stellar shooting night, connecting on 14 of 22 shots, including 4 of 7 on 3s. He added nine assists. Deandre Ayton added 14 points &mdash; on 7-of-10 shooting&mdash; and 13 rebounds. Torrey Craig hit 5 of 8 3s and had 17 points, and Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists.
&ldquo;We tried to blitz. We tried to fire. We did a lot of different things,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;They played great.&rdquo;
PAUL VS. FOSTER
Paul&rsquo;s archnemesis was carrying a whistle Tuesday, not dribbling a basketball.
The point guard had his personal 13-game playoff losing streak snapped when referee Scott Foster is on the floor. The long-running feud has lasted years with Paul criticizing Foster multiple times.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t notice,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re all about, in this run, minimizing distractions. That is what it is, I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;ll still be a thing.&rdquo;
SWITCHING DEFENSES
Several Suns players credited the Clippers coaches and players for their unpredictable defensive sets, which they said was part of the reason for the team&rsquo;s slow start.
&ldquo;They switched their defense up like every possession,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;They might double, they might triple, they might go zone, they might go full court press. So they&rsquo;re trying to throw us off with their coverages. I think we did a good job of (eventually) figuring it out. Just playing simple.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Clippers: Eight-time All-Star Paul George (sprained knee) hasn&rsquo;t played since March 21. ... L.A.&rsquo;s bench outscored Phoenix&rsquo;s 30-13. ... Leonard shot 11 of 20 from the field, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.
Suns: G Cam Payne (low back soreness) hasn&rsquo;t played yet in the series. Said coach Monty Williams &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just not ready. He&rsquo;s done a lot more on the floor, but there&rsquo;s certain movements he can&rsquo;t do yet without pain.&rdquo; ... Hosted a 76th consecutive sellout, combining regular season and playoff games.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-109 on Tuesday in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference first-round series.

Devin Booker scores 38 points, Suns beat Clippers to even series

It was a tie game in Orlando on Nov. 5. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox got the ball with about five seconds left, took four dribbles and let a shot fly from just inside of midcourt as time expired.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1589042762686795777?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Swish, for the win.</a>
A clutch moment &mdash; one of many for the Sacramento guard this season. Fox was announced Tuesday night as the inaugural winner of the NBA&rsquo;s clutch player of the year award, as selected by a panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league.
Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler was second, and Chicago&rsquo;s DeMar DeRozan was third.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be afraid to fail,&rdquo; Fox said on the TNT broadcast of the announcement. &ldquo;Obviously, you&rsquo;re not going to make every shot, but my teammates, my coaches, they put me in position to succeed. So the least I can do is have confidence in myself to take good shots.&rdquo;
Fox became Sacramento&rsquo;s first individual winner of a major award since Tyreke Evans held off Stephen Curry for rookie of the year in 2010. The Kings almost certainly won&rsquo;t be waiting 13 years for their next award &mdash; it&rsquo;ll be more like 24 hours, probably, with Mike Brown expected to be announced as the coach of the year when the NBA reveals those results on Wednesday.
The voting was a runaway; Fox, who led the league with 194 clutch points, got 91 of the possible 100 first-place votes and 460 of a possible 500 points. Butler got one first-place vote and 104 points, while DeRozan finished with 80 points &mdash; just three ahead of fourth-place finisher Jalen Brunson of New York.
DeRozan was second in the NBA with 159 clutch points scored this season, and Butler was third with 151.
Fox led the league in clutch-game scoring this season with 194 points in 39 such games; clutch games are defined as those where the margin between teams is five points or less at any point in the final 5:00. He actually shot better from the field in those moments (53%) than he did at all other times (51%).
He becomes the first recipient of the Jerry West Trophy; it was named for the player who earned the moniker of &ldquo;Mr. Clutch&rdquo; during his career. The NBA announced in December that it was adding the clutch award; like most other awards, it is voted on by the media panel, but unlike other awards the field of candidates is first narrowed down by polling of NBA coaches.
Fox was one of many major contributors to a resurgence in Sacramento this season.
The Kings &mdash; who currently lead defending champion Golden State 2-0 in a Western Conference first-round series &mdash; reached the postseason for the first time in 17 years. Fox is averaging a team-best 31 points in those two playoff games so far. And at 48-34, this was Sacramento&rsquo;s best regular season since going 50-32 in 2004-05.
&ldquo;My teammates and my team put me in position to succeed,&rdquo; Fox said.
The award was the second major individual one to be announced by the league this season.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr. was announced Monday</a>&nbsp;as the defensive player of the year. Coach of the year (Brown, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault or Boston&rsquo;s Joe Mazzulla) will be announced Wednesday and Sixth Man of the Year (Boston&rsquo;s Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee&rsquo;s Bobby Portis Jr. or New York&rsquo;s Immanuel Quickley) will be revealed Thursday.
The rest of the schedule for announcing other league awards, including MVP, most improved player and rookie of the year, has not yet been disclosed.

De'Aaron Fox became Sacramento’s first individual winner of an NBA award since Tyreke Evans won Rookie of the Year in 2010.

De'Aaron Fox wins NBA's new Clutch Player of the Year award

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 115-110 in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday.
Eric Gordon added 19 points and hit a late 3 that kept the Clippers ahead. Russell Westbrook shot just 3 of 19 from the floor for Los Angeles but made a pair of free throws with 17.7 seconds left for a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker&rsquo;s layup attempt at the other end and swatted the ball off Booker to give the Clippers the ball with 10.1 seconds remaining.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Suns, who lost for the first time with him on the floor. Phoenix acquired the two-time NBA Finals MVP from Brooklyn in February and injuries limited him to eight games &mdash; all Suns wins.
Devin Booker added 26 points for Phoenix, which will try to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole at home on Tuesday.
The Suns trailed 109-103 with 1:33 remaining but scored the next five points. The Clippers grabbed multiple offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Westbrook made his critical free throws. He finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.
Los Angeles led for much of the evening until midway through the third quarter. Torrey Craig made back-to-back buckets, including one on a powerful fast-break dunk, to push Phoenix ahead 70-68.
It was part of a 15-0 run that put the Suns up 77-68. The Clippers, led by Leonard&rsquo;s 12 points in the third, recovered to tie the game at 81-all heading into the fourth.
Leonard &mdash; a two-time Finals MVP playing his first playoff game since June 14, 2021 &mdash; did much of his damage from the mid-range, but moved behind the 3-point arc in the game&rsquo;s late moments. He hit a 3 with 2:36 left and another at the 2-minute mark, finishing 13 of 24 shooting from the field.
The Clippers were missing one of their best players in eight-time All-Star Paul George. He sprained his right knee last month and it&rsquo;s unclear if he&rsquo;ll be able to play in this series.
Gordon scored 12 points as the Clippers jumped to a 30-18 lead after one quarter. The Suns shot just 31.8% from the field in the first quarter and Durant was held scoreless.
Durant missed his first five shots from the field before finally connecting on a mid-range jumper early in the second quarter. That seemed to shake the nerves and the 34-year-old poured in 17 points before the break, helping cut the Clippers&rsquo; lead to 59-54.
TIP-INS
Clippers: George hasn&rsquo;t played since March 21. ... Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.
Suns: G Cam Payne (low back soreness) was not available. He was hurt in the next-to-last game of the regular season. ... Were playing their first home playoff game since a 33-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of last year&rsquo;s Western Conference semifinals.

Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, and the Clippers beat the Suns 115-110 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.

Omar